Whitman to host lecture on pricing fashion products

Whitman to host lecture on pricing fashion productsSeptember 10, 2008Amy Schmitzaemehrin@syr.edu

Ever wonder how retailers determine the best price for winter boots before snow has even fallen? Or how to sell a high-priced bathing suit before the season passes and it has to be marked down?

These questions and more will be explored by Scott Webster, the Becker Professor of Supply Chain Management in the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University. Webster will speak about “Ordering and Pricing a Fashion Product to Minimize Regret” Sept. 17 at 11:45 a.m. in Room 525 of the Whitman School building. The lecture, which is part of the Whitman Colloquium lecture series, is free and open to SU students, faculty and staff.

Webster will consider products for which it is difficult to accurately estimate the probability distribution of consumer valuation, though the total size of the market, as well as lower and upper limits on valuation, can be estimated. He will discuss how retailers can order and price product to minimize the maximum loss in expected profit due to market ignorance.

Webster holds a Ph.D. from Indiana University. His areas of expertise are related to improving competitiveness through logistics, including scheduling, policies for managing a supply chain and the design of distribution networks. His work has been published in Decision Sciences, the Journal of Operations Management and IIE Transactions, among other leading industry journals.

For additional information or to R.S.V.P. for the colloquium, contact Agnes Magnarelli, Whitman School of Management, at (315) 443-1383 or ahmagnar@syr.edu.